Have A Break, Have A KitKat! (A Review... Kinda)

It's been a long day, and a long week (how is it only Thursday?), I feel like I deserve a post work pick me up.

It really is hard to beat a pot of builders tea and a four finger KitKat. I'm usually a dark chocolate kind of guy, but I'm absolutely loving these ruby chocolate KitKat's. There's a little hit of acidity in the flavour that's reminiscent of slightly tart autumnal berries. It really intrigues me, especially since there's absolutely no fruit or fruit flavouring in there, it's all down to how they've processed the cocoa beans. I could quite easily find myself addicted to these things.

By the way that is/was my favourite teapot and moments after I took this photo a crack opened up down the side of it. It's now completely useless because it leaks terribly, as evidenced by the fresh tea stains all over my room.

Not So Naughty Chocolate Brownies

Rich, sweet and gooey in the middle, chocolate brownies are perhaps one of the most indulgent treats there is. This is my attempt at making them just a little less naughty whilst trying to keep that rich, fudgy flavour and feeling of indulgence.

You will need:
250g pitted dates, roughly chopped
300ml hot water
125g plain flour
75g cocoa powder
2 tbsp of sucralose based sweetener
1 tbsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
0.5 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C.
2. Add the dates to a bowl and pour over the hot water, allow to soak for 20 minutes before draining the water into a jug and setting aside for thinning the batter later.
3. Add the dates to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.
4. Add the flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, vanilla extract and salt to the blender then pulse until smooth. If the mixture is too dry add some of the date water, a little at a time, to thin it out.
5. Add in the baking powder and pulse until incorporated.
6. Pour the mixture into a greased 20cm square pan, ensuring an even coverage.
7. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, allow to cool in the tin before cutting.

Notes:
These will keep for days in an airtight container, though they’ve never really hung around to find out exactly how long for.

I Know That It's Hardly The End Of The World

I know that it's hardly the end of the world, but it's only the middle of the month, pay day is more than a fortnight away, I over spent on my food budget for the week, I've just smoked the last few, slightly dried out, dregs of my Charatan Eventide and a crack just opened up on the shank of my old briar.

A tin of Samuel Gawiths Winter Time blend, a cafetiere of strong, freshly ground coffee, a few squares of 70% dark chocolate and a large whisky would go a long, long way to making life a lot more pleasant right about now.

A Bit Of Comfort

When you’ve had a particularly shit day at work, and know that it’s only going to get worse over the next few weeks and maybe even forever, it’s impossible to over estimate the sheer peace of mind, and general comfort, that your favourite blanket, dark chocolate, strong spiced tea and an old book can bring. To be honest I barely even read any of the book, just the act of holding it and scanning my eyes over the words, along with that amazing old book smell, was a comfort in its self.